Covid-19 testing: The different types and why is it so important?

The Government has announced two new tests for coronavirus and flu, which canreturn results in just 90 minutes, are to be deployed in hospitals, care homesand laboratories from next week.

The tests have been hailed as a crucialinstrument in the fight against the pandemic, especially as the UK heads intothe colder months.

There are two types of test; the swab test and the finger-prick test, used to test if a person has Covid-19 or once had the virus.

Thetwo current test available has some setbacks, mainly being the amount of timeit takes to process results, between 24-72 hours to get results.

The mainthing with the news test, yet to be introduced, is the speed with which theyare able to detect not just Covid-19, but also other seasonal illnesses.

Thiswill be crucial as Britain heads into winter, as will easily identify ifsufferers will need to self-isolate.